Between the Blinds, a Solo Project by Kelly Barrie October 2, 2008

In Collaboration with the OCMA Biennial
Opening Reception: Oct 2, 6:00 – 9 pm
Room Gallery continues its Emerging Artist Series with Between the Blinds, a photo installation by Kelly Barrie. As the artist explains: “The piece began with a chance event, both profound and humorous. I came across a photograph of The Lonely Tree of Ténéré, a thorny acacia standing alone in the vast, hostile expanse of the Sahara Desert. I discovered that in 1973 this tree met an improbable end when a Libyan truck driver (allegedly drunk) drove into it even though there were no other trees within 250 miles. The tree perished from the collision.” Between the Blinds reconstructs this image, poetically evoking the space between 1973 and 2008, Africa and the US, photography and painting. The reconstructed image challenges us to ponder the relation between historical memory, regional politics, and aesthetic practice today.

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